Update on Donnellson, IA proposed breed ban

Donnellson already has BSL (not a ban) for owners of “pit bulls” and Rottweilers. There had been some discussion, mostly in the news media, over the last month about a possible breed ban. Yesterday we received some details from the Donnellson city clerk regarding the council’s discussions and decisions.

At this time, the Mayor is not in favor of a breed ban. He would like to see the fine for allowing any dog to run at large increased and to have the police department strictly enforce it. The fear of the pitbulls stems from a few owners who do not seem to properly care for their pitbulls and they allow them to run loose and they are causing the problems with the citizens. A two person committee is going to meet this month with the police dept to come up with some ideas for strengthening our laws and present ideas at the Feb 6th meeting.

This is a great opportunity for locals and residents to get with Donnellson officials to come up with effective breed-neutral alternatives, and possibly get the city’s BSL repealed entirely. We encourage respectful, educational dialogue with city officials to get them headed in a positive direction.

This alert [and several others] emphasize the huge disadvantage we have in relying on the media for our information. That is why it is so helpful to us when we have people on the ground, interacting with officials, and giving us reliable information on the events taking place.

Although we try to get the most accurate information possible, BSL tracking is a very time-consuming activity. Tracking a proposal in even a single town can be difficult; but alert sites like ours are trying to follow dozens of proposals at once. And did I mention that our sites are run entirely by one or two volunteers? Often, we are faced with severe limitations on communication with a town, and the best we can do is repost what has been reported by an online news source. Sometimes, it’s accurate, and sometimes it’s not.

Which is why we sincerely appreciate and rely on input and assistance from people on the ground and in the trenches—local people who can walk to city hall to read the agenda and ask questions of the city clerk; who can provide us with accurate information; who can dig up email addresses; and who can attend meetings and distribute information to council members. Thank you to all of you who have been working so diligently to track BSL in your area and inform us about it!

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